


snow to slush

by angelheartbeat



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Arguing, Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Leaving Home, Pre-Canon, Reginald Hargreeves' A+ Parenting, fuck him up diego
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-06
Updated: 2020-08-06
Packaged: 2021-03-06 01:48:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 945
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25755361
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/angelheartbeat/pseuds/angelheartbeat
Summary: The snow is turning to slush in the streets outside when the voices start in the hallway, loud and angry.Diego leaves home, and gives Reginald a piece of his mind before he goes.
Relationships: Diego Hargreeves & Reginald Hargreeves, The Hargreeves Family
Comments: 3
Kudos: 63





	snow to slush

**Author's Note:**

> honestly i jus wanted to write diego yelling at reginald cuz like its what he deserves yanno
> 
> plus its canon afaik that diego basically chewed reginald out b4 he left

The snow is turning to slush in the streets outside when the voices start in the hallway, loud and angry.

The Hargreeves siblings leave their rooms and rush to the top of the stairs. They look over the balcony to the hallway, only to see their father, mother and Pogo standing there. Facing them is Diego. He has a bag slung over one shoulder and his fists clenched.

"Number Two!" their father snaps. "If you step out those doors, you shall never be welcome back as long as I live!"

"Good!" screams Diego back, face screwed up with rage. "I never fucking want to come back!"

"Do _not_ use such language with me!"

"Fuck OFF!" shrieks Diego, and his siblings all flinch from their viewpoint on the balcony. None of them have ever sworn directly at their father. None of them have ever _screamed_ at their father, and yet here Diego is, doing both and looking for all the world like he's about to storm out and never look back.

"You _never_ gave a shit about us," Diego continues, stony-faced and shaking. "You abused us, and turned us into monsters, but you were the real monster all along, old man. You ruined our fucking lives. You let Ben _die_."

Klaus shivers, and glances over to where Ben's ghost is watching the commotion with misty eyes. Their father draws himself upwards, glowering at Diego.

"How dare you speak to me that way, Number Two," he says coldly, knuckles white with the strength he's gripping his cane with. "Get back to your room. I will deal with you shortly."

"What don't you get about this?" asks Diego through gritted teeth. "I'm not going back to my fucking room. I'm leaving. I'm not staying here with you."

They all flinch again at the crack that sounds when their father's cane makes contact with Diego's face. Pogo takes a step back. Grace takes a step forward.

"Diego," she mumbles, clearly fighting between her loyalty to Reginald and her motherly urges. Reginald swings his cane round to hold her back. Diego touches his face, feels the stinging there, and grins dangerously at their father.

"Proving my point, old man," he all but growls. "You don't care about us. You never have."

"I suggest you either leave now, or return to your room," says their father, staring Diego down. They stand like that for a moment, locked in eye contact, both furious. The tension is palpable. Diego twists his face up. 

Then he spits on the ground at their father's feet. "I hope you die," he whispers. "Painfully, and alone. Just like you deserve."

His eyes catch Grace's, and he softens. "I love you, Mom. I'm sorry."

Her eyes flick between her son and her creator, concerned but not quite comprehending. "Diego?"

Diego's remaining siblings watch as he sweeps his eyes around the room, making brief contact with each of them, sliding right over where Ben's ghost is stood. They watch as he chews the inside of his cheek, glares once more at their father, and turns on his heel. They watch as he slams the door open and storms outside, into the cold and the wet and the slush, and as the door creaks shut behind him, like the final nail in a coffin. They watch as they lose a third brother. 

Without meaning to, they all reach for each other's hands. Luther reaches for Allison, Allison reaches for Vanya, Vanya reaches for Klaus, and Klaus reaches for Ben, forgetting that Ben can't reach back. 

Reginald spins around and catches sight of them. "Return to your rooms at once!" he barks. "Number Two is no longer welcome in this household!"

_But he's our brother_ , Klaus wants to shout, but he doesn't. He just squeezes Vanya's hand. They all stare at the closed door as their father strides into the living room. Pogo and Grace stand there looking lost, gazing at the door as well. They all feel yet another loss sink deep into their bones. 

Grace affixes a smile to her face and whirls around. "Come along now, children!" she chirps, seemingly unbothered by the fact that the son she's closest to has just stormed out, presumably to never return. _Expert programming_ , thinks Allison bitterly, as their mother trots upstairs and ushers them along. Pogo is still stood in the hallway, looking exhausted.

They all secretly hold out hope for the next few days that Diego will return, that he'll sheepishly slink in one of the many back entrances and be punished by their father and everything will go back to normal. But as the days turn to weeks, and Diego never reappears, that hope drains away. Their father never mentions him anymore, just like he never mentions Ben, or even Five. They all have a feeling Two and Six won't be getting portraits in pride of place. 

And Diego's words stuck. They all knew them to be true, but none of them had really dared to say them before. But now they dance in their heads, and Diego left, and the thought is now there that they _can_ leave.

And so, one by one, they drift away. They weren't all as dramatic as Diego's exit - Vanya leaves a note on her pillow and steals away in the night, and Allison simply heard a rumour that she would be permitted to leave. Klaus was thrown out on his ass around Christmas. Only Luther stuck around, mourning six losses.

The slush had turned to rain when their father dies, and Diego returns to the Academy, welcome for the first time since his departure, and yet the Academy was no longer home.

**Author's Note:**

> am on tumbles @thoriffix hmu :]
> 
> comments make my heart sing gosh theyre such a lovely thing


End file.
